Head outside for an invigorating walking tour this holiday season. Take in the last of John Kriskiewicz’s “Architecture of Aspiration” walking tours on Christmas Eve, and consider Tony Robins’ Christmas morning tour of Rockefeller Center — repeated on Sunday, December 27. Take (or send) your holiday guests on MAS Tuesday Downtown and Wednesday Grand Central Terminal tours — we’ll have two tour leaders at Grand Central Terminal between Christmas and the New Year.

Also, don’t forget to welcome in the New Year with Jack Eichenbaum’s tour of Flushing’s Koreatown on New Year’s Day. Happy Holidays!

New York’s Rue de la Paix: West 57th Street
Thursday, December 24, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
The years between the First and Second World Wars marked the emergence of this elegant enclave of exclusive boutiques, art galleries, and department stores housed in Art Deco skyscrapers and classically inspired structures. Today, major designers and luxury multinationals dazzle with the latest architectural trends. Leader: John Kriskiewicz, architectural historian. Meet at the S.W. corner of 57th St. and Madison Ave. $15, $10 MAS members. Pay at tour. MAP. Continue Reading>>

Last Thursday, MAS proudly presented the 22nd Brendan Gill Prize to artists Mike and Doug Starn for See it split, see it change, their site-specific permanent art installation at the South Ferry subway terminal in Lower Manhattan. Commissioned by the MTA Arts for Transit Program, See it split, see it change was completed in December 2008 to wide praise.

The Brendan Gill Prize is named for the long-time MAS trustee, renowned New Yorker theater critic, author, and architectural preservationist. The cash prize, funded by a permanent endowment, is awarded annually to the creator of a work of art, book, sculpture, film, musical composition, or architectural design, accomplished the previous year, that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City. It was established in 1986 by MAS board members Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Helen S. Tucker and Margot Wellington. Continue Reading>>

“What if you could live, work and raise sheep in the same building?” is just one of the provocative ideas raised by the proposals commissioned by the Downtown Alliance in the newly installed exhibit in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. Chris Reynolds, MAS Urbanist and Assistant VP of Planning for the Downtown Alliance, and representatives of the firms Beyer Blinder Belle and ARO/Architecture Research Office recently led a group of MAS Urbanists on a special guided tour of the exhibit.

The Downtown Alliance, also known as the Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District, commissioned input from architects, urban planners, and artists for this outdoor exhibit, imagining the changes that might lead to a vibrant future for “Greenwich South,” an area roughly bounded by Broadway to the East, West Street to the East, Liberty Street to the North, and Battery Place to the South. Continue Reading>>

Last Monday evening, MAS welcomed Anthony Flint, author of the new book Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took On New York’s Master Builder and Transformed the American City, who gave an engaging lecture on the clash between these two influential figures.

Flint portrays their battle as the ultimate David-and-Goliath story: Jacobs was the quirky “girl from Scranton” who shunned academics and would later turn down an honorary degree from Harvard. Moses was the “master builder” who graduated from Yale, continued his studies at Oxford, and returned from England with an affected English accent. He wielded his power through appointed positions, while she used savvy activism to mobilize the community and to court both the media and up-and-coming politicians like Ed Koch. Continue Reading>>

Last Friday, on the eighth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, MAS contributing level members and higher joined MAS staff and directors to view the illumination of the Tribute in Light® from the downtown rooftop that houses the great battery of lights, accompanied by a brief lecture from architectural historian Francis Morrone on the tradition of using light as commemoration. Though the lights were partially obscured by low cloud and inclement weather, many of the images in the slideshow were taken during this year’s illumination.

The Tribute in Light honors those who were lost on September 11, as well as those who worked so hard to get our city through its greatest trial. The idea for the lights was independently conceived by several artists and designers, who were brought together under the auspices of the Municipal Art Society and Creative Time. The Tribute in Light is now produced annually by the MAS on the September 11th anniversary. It was designed by John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian Laverdiere, Paul Myoda and lighting designer Paul Marantz. Tribute in Light is made possible by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and with the generous assistance of Con Edison.

To learn more about the history of the project and how it is put together annually, click here to watch a narrated slideshow.

This Friday the Tribute in Light will illuminate the skies over Lower Manhattan for the eighth year to commemorate the attacks on the World Trade Center. The Tribute in Light honors those who were lost on September 11, as well as those who worked so hard to get our city through its greatest trial.

The idea for the lights was independently conceived by several artists and designers, who were brought together under the auspices of the Municipal Art Society and Creative Time. The Tribute in Light is now produced annually by the MAS on the September 11th anniversary. It was designed by John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian Laverdiere, Paul Myoda and lighting designer Paul Marantz. Tribute in Light is made possible by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and with the generous assistance of Con Edison. Continue Reading>>

Last Tuesday, our weekly Downtown walking tours kicked-off with an examination of the elegant Pentagram-designed model of Lower Manhattan (see below), then moved to the streets, where New York’s history is written in stone and metal. The dozen tour takers, including three college students studying preservation, two visitors from Vancouver, B.C. (previously unacquainted), and a recent retiree whose wife keeps their weekends too fully booked for walking tours, were joined by a visitor from out of town when she overheard tour leader Joe Svehlak’s commentary as he led participants into the Wall Street subway station to view the terra cotta artwork. She (the out of town visitor) had come Downtown to rehearse change-bell ringing at historic Trinity Church.

At the corner of Wall and Broad streets, Joe pointed out the site of Washington’s first inauguration and its commemoration in the statue and plaque at Federal Hall, then turned the group’s attention to the handsome building just across the street. In 1920, a terrorist’s bomb went off outside the-then House of Morgan. The scars of the deadly shrapnel remain in the stone façade, a silent memorial to the 30 killed and 200 injured that September day. Unlikely juxtapositions are common Downtown, where remnants of our Dutch, English, and Revolutionary past rub up against the visual history of the last turbulent century. Continue Reading>>

Need a lunchtime break? Entertaining out of town visitors? Starting Tuesday, September 1, join us for a walking tour of Downtown on Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m. Each hour and a half tour will be led by a knowledgeable MAS guide, either Tony Robins, Marty Shore, or Joe Svehlak.

Architectural historian Tony Robins is especially known to MAS tour takers for his Deco and Broadway theater tours, but also wrote the text for the Downtown Heritage Trail and authored a book on the World Trade Center. Urban historian Marty Shore leads popular MAS tours of Jewish Harlem and is a regular at Grand Central Terminal. He’s been leading Downtown tours for the last nine years. As a teenager, urban historian Joe Svehlak’s first job was as a messenger for a Downtown printing firm. His passion for preservation began as he saw great Downtown buildings lost to the wrecking ball. Joe’s recent “When New York was Nieuw Amsterdam” walking tour was a smash (and even made Dutch television).

Each tour leader will offer his individual perspective, but all will provide an overview of Downtown’s rich and varied history.

New Weekly MAS Walking Tour
Downtown: Where New York Began
Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m.
Tours begin at the Downtown Information Center, 55 Exchange Place, Suite 401 (adults, please bring your photo id) MAP. No reservations are necessary. Like our Wednesday Grand Central Terminal tours, there is a suggested donation of $10 per person.

Julie Menin, founder and board member of Wall Street Rising, and Vin Cipolla, president of the Municipal Art Society of New York, announced today a strategic alliance to bring new planning and public programming resources to Lower Manhattan. Wall Street Rising was established immediately after the September 11, 2001 to help restore vitality to the financial district.

“With the explosive population growth that has occurred in Lower Manhattan over the past several years, the community is facing enormous infrastructure challenges,” said Ms. Menin, Chairperson of Community Board 1. “After considering several organizations, the board of Wall Street Rising was delighted to partner with MAS, the city’s premier planning and advocacy organization, as we begin to focus attention on new planning initiatives.”

The WSR-MAS alliance has been accomplished through a transfer of stewardship in which Mr. Cipolla succeeds Ms. Menin as president of Wall Street Rising. Ms. Menin remains on the board. She also serves on the MAS board. Wall Street Rising’s financial assets of approximately $1 million will be available to provide funding for joint projects, including strategic planning initiatives and public programming and walking tours that celebrate the history, development and culture of Lower Manhattan. Continue Reading>>

Answer: They are both scheduled to become NYC landmarks tomorrow (Tuesday, February 10th). Continue Reading>>